This invention relates generally to shellers for shelling beans, peas and other legumes, and particularly to those types of shellers that employ a set of beaters rotatably mounted within a previous, rotatable drum such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 773,858; 957,443; 1,725,938; 2,633,852; 3,087,499 and 3,240,211.
In shellers of the just described type, unshelled beans or peas are placed within a drum and the drum and beaters therein rotated. As the beaters strike the beans or peas the fruit is separated from their hulls. Being smaller than the hulls, the fruit falls through the previous drum which typically is formed of screen. After falling out of the drum, the shelled fruit is directed into collection pans or bins while the shells or hulls remain within the drum for subsequent removal.
Though the just described shellers have proved effective in shelling beans and peas, they have been operationally deficient in several respects. For example, the machines have been relatively slow in shelling various types of beans such as butterbeans. Frequently, the hulls have tended to accumulate at one end of the drum placing an imbalanced torque on the rotating beaters as well as necessitating excessively frequent removal of the hulls from the drum. The extraction process of the hulls itself has been cumbersome. Trash has also been frequently found in the accumulation in the collection bins along with the shelled beans. Often, hulls have also become jammed in the screen. Furthermore, where the drum is filled to a substantial degree with podded hulls for shelling their bulk presents substantial resistance to initial, start-up movement of the paddles often creating overload conditions.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sheller for shelling beans, peas and other legumes with improved efficiency and effectiveness.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheller adapted to shell butterbeans with improved speed of operation.
Another object of the invention is to provide a sheller of the type employing a rotatable drum and a set of beaters rotatably mounted therein with improved means for inhibiting the accumulation of hulls adjacent one end of the drum.
Another object of the invention is to provide a sheller of the type employing a rotatable drum and a set of beaters rotatably mounted therein with improved means for extracting shelled hulls from the drum.
Another object of the invention is to provide a sheller of the type described with improved means for inhibiting the accumulation of trash in the collection bins for the shelled fruit.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a sheller having a rotatable screen drum with shroud means for inhibiting the jamming of hulls in the screen or the fruit of the hulls being thrown through the screen with centrifugal force and bruised.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a sheller of the type described with means for inhibiting hulls placed in the sheller drum for shelling from providing excessive resistance to initial start-up movement of the sheller beaters.